The Elementary School of Education Journal (ESEJ) upholds the principles of honesty and academic integrity. Therefore, plagiarism in any form cannot be tolerated. All manuscripts submitted to this journal will be strictly reviewed to ensure their originality.

✅ Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of claiming another person's work, ideas, or writings as one's own without giving proper credit. Forms of plagiarism include:

• Copying text directly without citing the source;
• Altering words or sentence structure from the original source without providing attribution;
• Using someone else's ideas, data, or illustrations without permission and without citing the source;
• Self-plagiarism: reusing one's own previously published work without stating that it is part of a previous work.

✅ Plagiarism Detection Policy

All submitted manuscripts will be checked using plagiarism detection software (Turnitin).

• The maximum acceptable similarity level is 20%, provided there are no significant similarities in important sections (e.g., introduction, discussion, or conclusion).
• Manuscripts with a similarity level above the threshold will be returned to the author for revision or rejected outright based on the editorial board's decision.

✅ Sanctions for Plagiarism

If indications of plagiarism are found, then:

1. Before publication: the manuscript will be rejected immediately and the author will be given official notification.
2. After publication: the article will be retracted, and a retraction notice will be announced on the journal's website.
3. Serious cases may be reported to the author's institution and result in a ban on submitting manuscripts for a certain period of time.

✅ Author Responsibility

The author is fully responsible for the originality and integrity of the submitted manuscript. Authors are required to:

• Declare that the manuscript is free from plagiarism;
• Cite sources correctly according to the journal's style guide (APA Style);
• Include relevant and accurate references for all citations and non-original ideas.

This policy is established to maintain the quality of scientific publications and foster an ethical and trustworthy academic culture.